D Roti King, 290 Ballarat Road, Braybrook. Phone: 8528 0064

Our Saturday banana leaf lunch at D Roti King is among the very best such meals we’ve enjoyed.

Perhaps even the very best.

Saturday?

Well, for time being at least that’s only day of the week the joint’s banana leaf meals are available.

Want to check it out some other time of the week?

No problem – a couple of other offerings are discussed below and the entire menu is down there somewhere, too.

Based on the evidence of our two superbly yummy visits thus far, we reckon there’s a very good chance anything you order here will be terrific.

The basic veg banana leaf meal costs $14.90.

Only the rice, dried chillies, pickle and some deep-fried bitter melon rings sit atop the banana leaf, with the rest of the meal’s bits arrayed around thali-style.

Clockwise from bottom left, they are …

A fine spud-studded dal.

Rassam/broth.

Raita filled with more chunky bits (cucumber, carrot, onion) than is customary in such settings.

Chick peas, also with potato chunks.

Greens with tofu.

A luscious eggplant concoction.

Everything is very good or better, though the chick peas could do with some more heating.

The outright star?

The eggplant – it’s sweet, unctuous and completely wonderful.

And, yep, there’s papadums as well.

The basic banana leaf meal is very generous – in quantity as well as quality.

Really, it stands as a fine meal in it’s own right.

But curry add-ons are available for $7 to $9.

Of course we go for it!

Our selections – from left, chicken 65, chicken varuval and lamb curry – are all exemplary in their tastiness and ingredient quality.

Wow!

A little less than a week earlier, we’d enjoyed some of D Roti King’s other fare.

Oh boy, we do great.

Bennie’s nasi lemak with fried chicken ($14) has all the necessary bits and pieces and hits the spot nicely.

My roti/curry combo costs $15 and is stupendous.

Chicken curry is swell. Three pieces on the bone, the meat falling away easily.

Dal/gravy beside them.

And two rotis – hot, moist, perfect.

D Roti King is a cheerful, bright, clean space to spend some time and we found the staff smiling and on the ball.